The Next New Thing

Device: Satellite Commander

 

            A device that allows users to pre-select a number of satellite images based on satellite positions and download the images in real time to their respective mobile devices. The pocket-sized device will utilize fiber optic bandwidth technology, and the service provider will most likely be a communications or aerospace company. The available images will be downloaded from commercial satellites only, and stored by the service provider for customer access. Customers will be able make selections for images of designated target areas with specific descriptions of time of day and duration of the image collection period. Images of the target areas will not be subject to privacy protection laws. So, if you want to view images of a beach in Barbados from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm every Sunday, just pony up the cash.

Advice to Brooklyn College

 

Brooklyn College’s inter-department systems require a major overhaul. Based on my experience, the Bursar’s Office cannot access student financial aid information maintained in the computer system used by the Office of Financial Aid. It is important to note that the Office of Financial Aid creates and updates students’ financial data. On a regular basis, students are advised to contact the Bursar’s office for information about the release of financial aid checks and invariably, the Bursar’s Office goes into research mode. Clearly, all departments should have access to information for which they share responsibility. Most important, the new media connectivity, communication, technology has a proven track record in education institutions and should be implemented fully at Brooklyn College.    

What is New Media

          New media is a rapidly evolving interactive communication vehicle with digital access to and use by a technology savvy global user base. Unlike old media companies driven by mechanization technology, new media businesses utilize new media communication technology  to  penetrate and grow worldwide markets and implement marketing strategies to maximize user activity and maintain a competitive edge. Like old media, new media focuses on politics, economics, and cultural/social topics of interest. However, the level of interaction from new media’s secondary contributors, specifically bloggers and wiki writers has facilitated an expansion of the principles of communication. Additionally, the innovation of new media has dynamically increase human interaction, especially social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

          The candle preceded electricity and the internet, the foundation of new media, will experience a similar degree of dominance over old media. To illustrate the point, the newspaper article, “Who Needs TV? I’m watching on a Laptop,” The New York Times, Tony Cenicola, writes that a segment of network television shows are available on the respective network TV websites and a small but presumably growing percentage of television viewers access television content with online devices. Personally, I am an online subscriber to the New York Times and I have daily delivery of the newspaper. In my opinion, old media will continue to participate in the marketplace and maintain a level of relevance in the future. Likewise, writer Clive Thompson reveals in his piece titled, “”How YouTube Changes the Way We Think” that old media presented video in the form of moving pictures primarily for news, documentaries, and information dissemination. Currently, in the new media space, online video serves both as a medium for mass communication with cyber participants and intercommunication on a one-to-one basis.    

         The level of success attainable by new media is primarily dependent on advances in electrical and fiber optic connectivity, computer chip technology, devices/hardware and software. In some cases, the software and related applications are ready for implementation but not all providers are able to integrate new functionality in their respective offerings. For example, Facebook recently acquired the photo sharing company Instagram but has not implemented the photo sharing app in its infrastructure. In my opinion, new media has achieved significant milestones and has benefitted billons of  users worldwide.

Blog about Twitter

 

Twitter is a social networking site with the fundamental elements of value and exposure to liability. First, Twitter’s one hundred and forty characters tweet limit restricts the writer to make a concerted effort to be concise. Second, tweets are well suited to facilitate the listings of links to topics of interest, even education related links. On the other hand, tweeting and following tweets can be time consuming and generally unproductive. Furthermore, sharing information on Twitter can be a problem if your information gets into the hands of someone with criminal intent. Frankly, an abundance of caution should be in play for Twitter activity.

            Without a doubt, CUNY’s BlackBoard is an excellent medium for course management and student activity. Professors use BlackBoard to post general class announcements; important notifications; list assignments; and communicate with students using the Discussion Board and email functions. Students can submit assignments in email format (student-to-professor) or publish assignments on the Discussion Board (student- to- students and professor) for interactive learning. In addition, BlackBoard’s Discussion Board gives students the opportunity to build and refine writing skills without significant time constraints.

            In-class discussions moderated by the course’s professor are opportunities for students to exercise verbal communication skills and share their understanding of the discussion topic. For the most part, in-class discussions are well organized and students benefit greatly from the instant feedback provided by the course’s professor.    

Social Networking Sites

 

In my opinion, social networking sites, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, facilitate the sharing of information on topics with infinite scope and ultimate freedom of expression. My primary issue with social networking sites is related to the sharing of personal information with a community of friends who may or may not exercise good judgment in disseminating my information to individuals who may in turn use my information maliciously or criminally. At first, my Facebook account served as an entertainment option, now the party is over but the guests just cannot figure it out. Accepting friend requests can be satisfying but unfriending can result in unpredictable circumstances. I am convinced that a significant number of people using social networking sites have the need to seek validation of their existence on planet earth. Some postings reveal the most uninteresting aspects of my friends’ lives and I am often embarrassed by their need to publish their journal-like entries on a social networking site.

 On the other hand, social networking sites can be a viable mechanism for businesses.

For example, Nike modified its business model with the addition of social networking strategies focused on brand image and the goal to reach the ninety-eight percent of 18-24 year olds who spend a significant amount of time in online communities. Additionally, that change resulted in the movement of considerable advertising dollars from old media to social networking media. Nike’s advertising on social networking sites targeted Nike’s core shoe buying customers, 18-24 year olds, who outspend the adult market segment by more than twenty percent. It is evident that social networking media can be the mechanism to reach global internet consumers with minimum difficulty. 

P2P File Sharing

 

 

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing can be problematic if is crosses legal boundaries, specifically identity theft, copyright infringements, and piracy. By definition, “P2P systems provide higher storage and access capacity via distribution of resources across peers, improved reliability due to the availability of multiple peer machines and distributed security achieved by distributing partial secrets across peers. Unlike the client-server computing paradigm, where all the computation cycles and data are to be had from a single source, in P2P the participating peers contribute CPU cycles and storage space."  Simply put, files are shared in cyberspace among computers with internet connections with a common suite of software and a folder maintained by the end user.

           P2P file sharing should be subject to a “smell-test” because it is difficult to authenticate a file source. P2P file sharing programs provide a global user base to swap music, video and a variety of files over the Internet. P2P networks include, but are not limited to: Shareaza – a powerful search engine with connectivity to P2P file sharing networks, e.g. BitTorrent andLimeware. A key feature of Shareaza’s file sharing software is the functionality to identify corrupt files; BitTorrent is popular among users who share movies and television programs; Limewire receives high ratings for its search and download performance.

Social Networking

For the most part, the concept, applications, and issues of social networking are known entities, and they are covered in varying levels in blogs for the social networking assignment. Personally, I am interested in social networking statistics and I would like to share my discoveries with members of this forum. The following data was published at www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/

 

Social Networking Statistics

Total number of Facebook users worldwide:                                                1.2 Billion

Total percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media:               98%

Total percentage of people on Earth who use Facebook:                               11%

Total amount of minutes people spend on Facebook every month:               700 billion

Average amount of time a person uses Facebook per month:                         15 hours 33 minutes

Total amount of people who access Facebook with phone:                           250 million

Total amount of websites that have integrated with Facebook:                     2.5 million

Total pieces of content shared on Facebook each month:                              70 billion

Total amount of unique YouTube users per month:                                       490 million

Total amount of YouTube page views per month:                                         92 billion

Total amount hours spent on YouTube per month:                                        2.9 billion

Average amount of tweets per day:                                                                190 million

Percent of teenagers who log on to Facebook over 10 times per day:           22%

Percent of teens that view social networks as unsafe:                                    59%

Percent of Americans who aren’t confident in their ability to use                 24%

privacy settings

 

Most disconcerting were the statistics on social networks safety and privacy settings In the article, “Antisocial Networking?” by Hilary Stout, the author raised concern over the effect of cyber-bullying and texting sexually explicit messages (sexting) on kids’ intellectual development. Currently, the body of psychologists researching “the darker side of online interactions” is in the evaluation process. Next, in the publication, “Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security” Published: June 10, 2009 in Knowledge@Wharton, there is a troubling acknowledgement that “Privacy is a moving target.” Lance Hoffman, a George Washington University computer science professor noted, "Privacy policies differ in theory and practice. In theory, consumers know about a site's privacy policy and trust the network. The reality is that no one reads the policies. I don't read them myself."  For example, Facebook’s privacy policy is 3700 pages long and most users are not inclined to read a long-drawn-out online document. If 59% of teenage users consider social networks unsafe, it is conceivable that social networking providers are exposing teenage users to fraudulent use of personal information, and increased risk of physical and psychological distress.